Customer Reviews

Silver Ship

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Silver Ship" is the first album of new material from five-time Grammy nominee Suzanne Ciani since 1999's "Turning." Like that album, many of the tracks feature members of her performing group, The Wave, most notably Paul McCandless on a variety of reed instruments, Matt Eakle on flute, Teja Bell on guitar, and Michael Manring on bass. Also very notable is phenomenal cellist Joe Hebert. Most of the music is light and breezy, creating an atmosphere of peace and serenity. Ciani says her muse had been dormant for five years and made an appearance while she was visiting family in Italy, the scene of many of her musical creations over the years. Not as experimental as earlier work, this is the music of a mature artist creating for the love of it. Ciani's classical roots are clear in the orchestrations, but her long history in electronic music is also apparent, as is her deep love of the ocean.

Many of the arrangements are full, lush orchestrations, but the most poignant piece on the album is the simplest. "Sargasso Sea" is an incredibly beautiful duet with Ciani on piano and Joe Hebert on cello. This is one of Ciani's most emotionally compelling pieces ever, and Hebert's soulful cello cuts right to the heart. This piece is worth the price of the CD alone - it's a knockout! I also really like "Snow Crystals," a more electronic piece that sparkles and dances with tiny bell sounds and oboe, as well as bass - this is classic Ciani, mixing acoustic with electronic to great effect. I also really like "Wine Dark Sea," a rhythmic, exotic piece that features Paul McCandless on oboe and Teja Bell on guitar. Dark and mysterious, this piece has a hypnotic flow. "Capri" is a joyful little confection that features Matt Eakle on flute - again classic Ciani. "Eclipse" is a little bit darker, with lots of strings along with the piano - very symphonic, and very deeply felt. The title song is a sweet lullaby sung by Valerie Wilson. The instrumentation is very simple - mostly acoustic guitar with some electronic voices and effects.

Suzanne Ciani has been one of my favorite composers for many years, and I teach her piano solos literally every day. I love her piano work best, but this album is a gentle, soothing collection of beautiful music performed with some of her favorite musicians. I don't think Ciani's many fans will be disappointed with this album, and a couple of the songs are among her very best. Recommended!

With her usual style, romantic, sweet and melodic, Suzanne has composed for this album ten themes, which range between the most Classical side in her style, and the most New Age. A pleasant, melodic and very orchestral music, where the keyboards and the fine arrangements have a fundamental presence. Almost all the themes are rhythmic, even though not quite fast, and give the leading role to the melodies. On the whole, this album has a great emotional load. The music reaches deep inside when listened to with due attention. Paul McCandless (wind instruments), Matt Eakle (flute), Teja Bell (guitar), Joe Hebert (cello), Michael Manring (bass), Michael Whalen (percussion) and Valerie Wilson (vocals) collaborate in this album.

This was the first Suzanne Ciani CD I purchased. I have been playing it almost nonstop since first putting it in my CD player. I just ordered two more of her CDs and if they are as nice as this one she will be on my list of most favorites along with Secret Garden.

Who am I to contradict the great John Diliberto! John is the host of the NPR Echoes radio program. It is available by subsciption on the Internet. I recommend it. But he botched this review and gave no airplay to this fine album. In short, this album is not "easy listening". It is New Age all the way. In Silver Ship, Suzanne Cianni returns to her 1980's style with similar melodies and effects. It is less grand and a little softer. I believe it is a better album than her last two, Turning and Pianissimo III. Friends have positively commented on it when they heard it in my car stereo. The only problem with it is that the style does not break any new ground. She has returned to her best stuff. It is an insult to compare this album to easy listening. Going back to John's review, WEAZ should have converted from easy listening to New Age in 1983 when New Age was starting its popularity. The style was fading in popularity in 1989. But thankfully for New Age music fans like myself, there are lots of new albums to listen to in 2006. Silver Ship is one of them. By the way, I met Ms Cianni once and found her very personable.

I've been a fan of Ciani for over fifteen years and I've yet to be disappointed. Her music matures from album to album in such a way that is unique, but not necessarily better than the previous album. Proof of this is her albums Pianisimo 1 and Pianisimo 3. Ten years apart from one another, both still remarkable, yet a maturity from one to the next.

Though Pianisimo 3 is still my favorite album, its only because of song #10, The Fifth Wave. Even after hearing it hundreds of times, it still has the ability to bring tears to my eyes.

Silver Ship is, in my opinion, her next step up from her album Turning. Turning was a remarkable album, combining her every talent and culminating it into one album. Silver Ship proceeds with this singular effort. A stunningly talented artist, you would do well to experience her music.

Suzanne Ciani's CD, SILVER SHIP, uses the ocean as a general theme. In addition to the title track, several of the songs reference the ocean (WINE DARK SEA, OPEN SEAS, SARGASSO SEA) or islands off the coast of Italy (CAPRI, STROMBOLI). Italy (where her family comes from) is her second home and she composed half the tunes there and the other half in her Northern California home that sits perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The music ranges from moody and melancholy to upbeat and positive. Ciani says: SILVER SHIP is a metaphor for my willingness to set sail to find beauty again after the difficult post-divorce shipwrecked years. She wrote and produced the tunes, plays piano and synthesizer, and is joined by great musicians like Paul McCandless (of Oregon) on oboe and English horn. In this music there are a lot of deep feelings, rich textures and poignant resonance. Ciani was one of the founders of new age music, and this album shows just how far that genre has grown.

Calming and appealing light music. Did you know that Suzanne Ciani is a five-time Grammy nominee? Sometimes soft music is plain and uninteresting, but this music is emotional, melodic, and occasionally tugs at your heartstrings. I am happy to own it.

Amazon's reviewer, John Diliberto has no business reviewing music as he is apparently a mouth-breathing devotee of something very different from quality music. The posted review should be replaced by someone who actually knows what they are talking about.

Suzanne Ciani has been creating incredible music for many years and has helped to shape an entire genre of music. This offering is no deviation from her past successes and is quite listenable. Thankfully some musically-astute people have seen fit to weigh in!

another great album by Suzanne Ciani. She is the best at electronic and improv music

I have know Suzanne Ciani's music forever and this is the album

I've been waiting for for 5 years. Finally an all-new release. It is classic Ciani- taking me inward and outward through so many feelings- joy and sadness and all sorts of

vulnerabilities. The sound quality is pristine and the playing and arrangements are

just gorgeous. Sargasso Sea just makes me weep and Capri makes me dance. Love it all.

Jane